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Operating Authority and Truck Insurance Requirements

The types of a company’s operating authority dictate its commercial insurance requirements and financial responsibilities to the public. Generally speaking, according to the FMCSA, “Companies that operate as “for hire” trucking carriers (for a fee or other compensation) that transport passengers or federally regulated commodities, or arrange for their transport, in interstate commerce are also required to have interstate operating authority.” FMCSA regulated operating authority that it grants to trucking companies often go by the acronyms of the various kinds of operating authorities such as an “MC,” “FF,” or “MX” number, all depending on the type of authority that the FMCSA  grants. Unlike the requirements for obtaining the USDOT Number, a trucking company may need to obtain more than one or two operating authorities to comply with Federal regulations for the trucking company’s self-described business operations. The types of operating authority dictate the kinds of different operations a company may engage in, the cargo it can lawfully carry and the actual geographic areas in which it can conduct its business.

All of these stipulations and regulations also dictate the level and kinds of commercial insurance coverage and the legally mandated financial responsibilities a company must assume (and be financially competent to assume).

While most trucking companies have to have operating authority, a few are not required by law to have operating authority. These include private carriers, carriers that only transport exempt cargo (meaning cargo that is not federally regulated), or trucking companies that operate only within a federally denominated “commercial zone” that is exempt from FMCSA interstate authority rules. The FMCSA  says, “A commercial zone is, for example, a geographic territory that includes multiple states bordering on a major metropolitan city, such as Virginia/Maryland/Washington, DC.”

Once a trucking company has handled the “paperwork” and filing for DOT Numbers and Operating Authority, the next step involves complying with insurance regulations specific to the details of the kinds of operating authority and the nature of his particular trucking business. These regulations are revealed on the forms specific to them which the trucking company owner must fill out. They are endorsement forms legally stating and proving that the trucking company has the correct public liability insurance for his various classifications. These forms can be viewed at (click here) FMCSA Insurance Related Forms.

In addition to these forms, the FMCSA requires all trucking companies to meet the individual state truck insurance requirements for each state in which it operates.  Thirty-eight states have reciprocity agreements of one kind or another, though nearly all have differing insurance requirements. The FMCSA conveniently supplies the phone numbers and addresses for all of the states’ trucking and highway regulating authorities.

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